1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus for the dispensing of liquids such as foods and condiments. It relates especially to a special connector connecting a dispensing nipple or tip to a condiment supply container, such as a bottle.
2. Background of the Invention
Condiments such as mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise, and various other sauces are widely dispensed in restaurants and cafes, and especially in the fast food market. Restaurants have various dispensing systems for these condiments, such as ketchup bottles or mustard bottles. Some of these bottles are rigid, and others are plastic where they can be squeezed. Many of the fast food restaurants have the condiments in small plastic packages. When the customer needs ketchup, for example, he tears off a corner of one of these packages, and squeezes the product (such as mustard or ketchup) onto the sandwich. The use of such packages leaves a lot to be desired, e.g. they are very messy and also they waste a lot of the condiment being dispensed.
There have been various schemes developed to try to overcome these objections and develop more efficient condiment dispensers. However, none of these are widely accepted. For example, one such system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,569 entitled: "Dispenser for Pasty Matter" issued to Uno Larsson Sep. 17, 1988. That patent shows a container such as a bottle with a neck portion to which is attached a plastic dispenser tip. When the device is hung upside down, the condiment in the container flows into the dispensing tip which has a valve mechanism such that no fluid flows out the end of the tip until pressure is applied by squeezing the plastic tip. The valve system described therein was not entirely satisfactory for some commercial use.